Chapter 1

A decade ago, my father disappeared, taking my little brother and his mistress with him.

My mother cursed that homewrecker without pause.

But one day, I uncovered the truth. My mother was the real homewrecker all along.

My dead little brother had been nothing more than a pawn in their twisted scheme.

*****

"Emily, this is your father," my mother Lily Carter said, her face beaming.

He gave me a big grin and said, "Emily, I'm your father. Do you remember me?"

"Of course she remembers you," Lily said, shooting me a look. "Isn't that right, Emily?"

I looked at them both, my stomach twisting with disgust. With a bitter smirk, I said, "I remember. You didn't want mom, and you didn't want me either."

Their bright smiles froze, awkward and stiff.

"Emily, don't you dare talk to your father that way! You'll piss him off," Lily snapped.

Let him get mad. Watching them lose it was the only thing that made me smile.

Putting on my most innocent face, I said, "But Mom, isn't that what you always say? That once he's got his pants on, he acts like he doesn't know us?"

My father, Richard Lynch, shot Lily a death glare, and his face went dark.

Lily scrambled to explain, "No, Richard, Emily is trying to push your buttons. I'd never badmouth you."

Lily never talked smack about him. In her mind, the whole mess was the fault of that scheming bitch who lured him away. As long as he kept her fed and well-dressed, he was perfect.

He said with a sign, "Emily, it's okay if you're mad at me. I forgive you, and I won't make a fuss."

Then he turned to my husband Lucas Scott, who'd rushed over, and added, "This must be my son-in-law. He's quite a catch, isn't he?"

His sudden friendliness made my stomach turn. It was as if the whole room had forgotten the way my brother, Oliver Lynch, died eight years ago, and as if none of it had ever mattered.

When Richard took Oliver and walked out the door, I was just a kid.

My memory was blurry, but I still remembered Lily cursing that homewrecker every single day.

Later, as I grew up, Lily told me her side of the story.

She said Richard cheated, got dragged away by some cunning woman. For that bitch, he abandoned our family, took Oliver with him, and left behind thirty thousand dollars.

After that, Lily became fixated on what had happened.

She hammered it into me nonstop that I had to work my butt off no matter what, so she could enjoy a decent life.

While other kids goofed off, riding on their dads' shoulders and shouting, "Giddy up!", I was stuck at home, drilled night after night by Lily to study.

That went on for years. Over a decade of my childhood slipped away like that.

Whenever I felt wiped out, I'd stare at my own reflection in the mirror and give myself a pep talk.

I'd start thinking about my twin brother, Oliver. I hadn't seen him in ages. He was born two minutes after me, but that never stopped him from bossing me around and making me call him "big bro".